


Kryzhane Serce

by ArvenaPeredhel



Category: Frozen (2013), Slavic Mythology & Folklore
Genre: AU, Kievan Rus', Lesbian Kristoff, Medieval Rus', Multi, Rule 63, Ukrainian AU, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-06 17:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArvenaPeredhel/pseuds/ArvenaPeredhel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the year 962, in the kingdom of Kievan Rus', a new Grand Princess takes the throne. Snizhana of Kyiv is twenty years old, beautiful, intelligent, and in possession of a dangerous secret - she's a witch, blessed by the Goddess Morana with powers of winter. She lives in fear that her powers could destroy her, and when she is revealed she flees into the wilderness in desperation, leaving her sister Hanna in charge of the throne. At least, until Hanna sets out to find her and return her to her home. But with intrigue brewing in the palace walls and only a wood-carver's daughter to help her, can Hanna rescue her sister from the greatest danger of all - her own frozen heart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gift of the Goddess

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning: I know very little about the layout of the castle of Kyiv, and while I'm trying to be as accurate as possible I am not Ukrainian. Please let me know if I colossally screw anything up, but keep in mind I'm trying to tell a story here, not write an academic paper. I imagined the setting to be similar to the castle of Arendelle from the film.

"Snizha! _Snizhaaa!_ Wake up wake up wake up!"

Snizhana of Kyiv, who couldn't have been older than five or six, groaned and opened her eyes. Her bedroom had been deserted moments ago, but now there was a very small, very energetic girl with a mass of reddish hair tugging on her hand and climbing into bed beside her.

"Go back to bed, Hanna." she murmured, trying to nestle back under her blankets. "It's the middle of the night." _And you're my younger sister, and you woke me up._

"I can't sleep!" she insisted.

"It's cold."

"You never care! You run around in the snow without any shoes on!" Hanna pressed. "Come on let's go and play."

Snizhana groaned. _It's not like she's going back to bed anyway._

"Fine." she said, and then a mischievous grin spread across her face. "Come on, I'll race you to the ballroom!"

~*~

The two girls slid into the empty hall on stocking feet, laughing at some private joke between them, before Snizhana turned and shut the doors quietly. Hanna was almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"Let's skate around let's skate around!" she cried, clapping her hands together. "The floor's all slippery!" As she spoke her feet almost slid out from under her, and her scream of shock turned into a sharply joyful laugh. "See?"

Snizhana laughed and lunged playfully for her sister. "You better run!"

Hanna spun around and skated across the polished wooden floor, giggling as her older sister pursued her. They raced around the perimeter of the empty room until they were breathless, their laughs turning into gasps for air. Snizhana had almost caught up to Hanna when the younger girl let out a squeak of surprise. She'd tripped on the hem of her skirt and was falling toward the floor.

"Hanna!" the older girl cried, her hands reaching out futilely for her sister. Suddenly she felt something icy cold slide through her, like she'd stepped through a wall of freezing water, and Hanna was face-first in a three-foot-deep pile of...

... of _snow_?

The little girl came up spitting icy flakes from her open mouth, and she turned to look at her sister with a confused expression.

"Snizha?" she asked slowly. "Did you do that?"

"I..." the girl said, staring at her hands in shock. They were edged in blue, her veins outlined as if frosted.

"Snizha your hair!" Hanna cried. "It's turning white, look!"

Frantically the princess undid her braid and pulled a few strands free. Sure enough, her hair was white as the snow she'd magically created.

"What happened?" she asked, feeling her heart beat faster. "What's going on?"

Hanna broke into a smile. "Do it again do it again let's have a snowball fight!"

"O... okay..." Snizhana answered, raising her hands and pointing them skyward. _Maybe if I shoot up they'll fall like they do outside..._ The shocking sensation of ice swept through her again and shining blue light flew up to the ceiling, exploding in flurries of snow that fell until the entire ballroom was covered in a thick layer of the stuff. Hanna squealed again in joy, bending low and packing a snowball together, throwing it hard at Snizhana's turned back.

"Ow!" she cried in protest, siezing up some of the snow she'd created and hurling a few snowballs in retaliation. Hanna burst out laughing and darted behind a pillar, still stooping to make more snowballs. 

"You'll never get me!" she said triumphantly, brandishing a snowball in each hand. 

Snizhana formed a snowball in her hand, still trembling at the feeling of the magic rushing through her, and threw it hard at Hanna's shoulder. The younger girl ducked as she saw it coming, and she stumbled backward to avoid it, but the icy missile struck her hard on the side of her arm.

"Ow!" Hanna cried, rubbing where she'd been hit, and she retaliated swiftly, throwing a snowball that struck Snizhana directly in the face, knocking her flat on her back.

"Hey!" Snizhana cried, and as she fell back the magic surged through her arm again and flew right at...

... right at Hanna.

She didn't cry out, didn't make any sound really. Simply fell back soundless, head cracking against the wooden floor as the bolt slammed into her chest and her body turned to ice.

Fear flooded Snizhana, and as she ran across the room to her fallen sister ice spread from her footsteps and slid to freeze the entire ballroom.

"Hanna?" she cried desperately. "Hanna, are you all right?"

She knelt by her sister's side, not even sliding a little on the ice as she shook her. The girl didn't move. 

Suddenly there was a great crash of thunder, and the vaulted ceiling of the ballroom was filled with the image of a woman clad in black, a wreath of flowers on her head. Snizhana gasped and looked up, holding Hanna in her arms as the woman gazed down upon her.

"I... I know who you are." she said at last. "You're the goddess Morana."

Morana was the bringer of death and winter to her kingdom, and her parents paid tribute to her every week in worship. She was learning about the ancient faith of her people as she grew, and she had always felt connected to the goddess somehow.

Now at last her child's mind understood.

"And you, Snizhana, are my chosen one." the goddess said, and somehow she slipped from imposing figure to tangible woman walking on the snow, leaving no imprint as she walked. "Your family has been faithful to me for centuries. I wanted to reward you with a gift. One that you will pass from mother to daughter for ever." 

"What do you mean?" the girl asked. "What about Hanna?"

Morana bent and touched her forehead, and a ripple of power that felt nearly identical to Snizhana's own shot through both girls.

"Hanna will be fine." she said, kneeling before Snizhana. "Your power can thaw as well as freeze. She will not remember that you struck her, or that you have any magic at all. And that is what is best. You see, Snizhana, you must learn to control the ice or else it will control you. And until that time, you should hide this from everyone."

The goddess raised her hand, calling a beautiful, icy snowflake into existence. It gleamed in the moonlight. 

"There is beauty in ice, but as you can see," she continued, gesturing to the frozen ballroom, "it spreads and consumes everything." She shifted her hand, and the edges of the snowflake shimmered, sharp as knives. "It will harm you if you do not learn to use it well. But master it and none will stand against you." The snowflake split apart, the pieces flying and slicing clean through the ice coating the ballroom.

"But my sister!" Snizhana insisted. "What did I do?"

"You froze her heart." Morana said. "This is what will happen to you if you do not learn to control the gift I have given you. Fear and anger will feed on your power and it will freeze you to solid ice." 

"Can... can you fix it?" 

"Of course I can. But only for a time. Someday your powers will be so strong that even I cannot undo one of your spells."

"How do I control it?" Snizhana asked, watching as whatever enchantment the goddess had worked slowly turned Hanna from ice to flesh and blood.

"Control your feelings." Morana said. "That is the key. And now, I must go."

"But I don't know anything!" the girl cried. "Please!"

The goddess snapped her fingers and the ice vanished from the room, leaving it dry as a bone.

"You will learn." she said, and with that she was gone, leaving Snizhana alone with her sister slowly returning to consciousness.

 _Control._ she reminded herself. _Don't feel anything. Nothing at all._


	2. We're Done with Being Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm taking some creative liberties here - first off, I'm making Vesna one goddess instead of a group of spirits, and as far as I know, there wasn't ever a cult of Vesna in medieval Rus', but when I heard the "Spring Pageant" cut song from Frozen's deluxe edition it reminded me of the still-extant tradition in some Slavic cultures of burning Morana's effigy when winter ends. Also, this is an alternate history - Igor of Kiev had two daughters rather than one son, and though he died as in reality, Grand Princess Olga of Kiev (in this history) reigned until her daughter was of age.

Hanna of Kyiv was normally not a morning person.

Normally.

"It's today, it's today!" she exclaimed, running through the halls of her home. She was only half-dressed, with her fur-lined cape tied over her nightgown, but she was too excited to care. "It's today it's today it's today!"

"Whoa, slow down!"

Her mother, Grand Princess Olga, caught her by the back of the cape as she darted past.

"Where are you going?" she asked, bending down to look Hanna in the face with a smile.

"I wanna go watch the festival!" Hanna said excitedly. "It's my birthday and they drown the mean lady today!"

Olga laughed and shook her head.

"You're going nowhere dressed like that, young lady." she said. "And besides, the festival has nothing to do with your birthday. The people are celebrating Spring coming."

"Then why do they stick the mean lady in the water?"

Olga shivered a little, crossed herself, and looked Hanna right in the eyes.

"The lady isn't mean. She's a goddess."

"A goddess?" the girl asked, and her eyes grew huge.

"Yes. The goddess Morana. Our family has followed her for centuries."

Something inside Hanna's chest stirred as Olga spoke of Morana, almost as if her heart remembered something her mind did not. She shrugged off the sensation and listened.

"Then why do they drown her?"

"Because the people prefer to follow Vesna. She brings spring and flowers and warmth."

"I like flowers." Hanna said, considering this. "I think I like Vesna better."

Olga laughed. "All right. Come on, let's go wake up your sister and then we'll get you dressed for the festival."

 

~*~

"Snizhana? Snizhana, it's time to get up."

Olga opened the door and paused, taken aback by how cold it was. She took a step into her daughter's room, and her boot cracked the -

\- _frost?_

"Snizha?" she called again. "What's going on? Are you all right?"

The windows were closed and the curtains were drawn, and the fire had gone out and was nothing but cold charcoal. In her bed, Snizhana of Kyiv lay still as if frozen.

"Snizha?" Olga called, moving instantly to her daughter's side and putting a hand on her forehead. Immediately she drew it back, staring in disbelief. _She's ice cold. How... how does that happen?_

The Grand Princess's mind turned to foul play - no one would dare cross her, not since her triumph during the Siege - but instantly pushed it aside. This was something different.

Snizhana stirred at her mother's touch, and her eyes opened a little.

"Mama..." she murmured. "They're drowning her..."

"Her?" Olga asked, and suddenly a thrill ran through her. Morana. Of course. Snizhana had been particularly devout in her practices for the past few months - it made sense that she was upset.

Or was it something more?

"The nice lady who gave me the gift." Snizhana said, nestling deeper into the blankets. "I feel sick."

"Lie still, Snizha." Olga said reassuringly. "It'll be okay. What gift did she give you?"

"This one." the girl murmured sleepily, sticking her hand out from under the quilt. The veins were outlined in icy blue, and suddenly a stream of snowflakes poured from her upturned palm.

Olga froze. _Witchcraft._

"She was so nice." Snizhana continued. "Really nice. She was so big."

"Morana?"

"Mmhmm." the girl said before continuing to sleep.

Olga paused, holding her daughter's ice-cold hand until the snowflakes stopped. If Morana had given Snizhana a gift, she was destined for something special.

_I'll watch her and see what happens. But for now, on the day where we "kill" her patron goddess, she should stay inside._

 

~*~

"What's going on now, Mama?"

Olga smiled and took Hanna's hand as they watched the circle of dancers clad in white embroidered shirts and red vests and skirts.

"They're doing a dance to help bring Spring back and chase away Winter." she said with a smile. "Someday you can join them."

"Can I can I can I?" Hanna asked enthusiastically, bouncing in her small seat beside Olga's high chair. "They're so pretty!"

"Yes they are." the Grand Princess agreed.

"I like the flowers best." the small girl declared.

"Really? I like how the vests are embroidered." Olga said. "And the aprons over the skirts are pretty too."

Hanna frowned. "Where's Snizha?"

"Snizhana is sick, remember?" Olga said. "She'll be all right though."

Hanna was silent for a moment, fingers tracing a pattern over her chest.

"It's because of today, isn't it?" she asked at last. "Because of Morana."

Olga flinched, hoping no one had seen the flicker of panic cross her face. _How does - no. Never mind. Girls have their secrets, and I'll respect that._

"Yes, sweetheart." she confided. "But... but keep that a secret?"

"Okay Mama." Hanna said. "A secret."

The dancers finished and broke their circle, and the townspeople all rose up as the effigy of Morana was brought forward. It was simple, made of straw and bedecked with various ornaments and charms to ward off winter's chill; as Olga looked at it she suddenly feared for Snizhana. Vesna, the goddess of Spring, was far too popular among her people for someone like Snizhana to live freely, especially if she was so closely tied to the goddess as to be affected by even her symbolic "death" by drowning.

 _I'll have to keep her gift hidden._ Olga reasoned. _No one can ever know._

The Grand Princess took Hanna's hand and squeezed it as the dancers circled and sang. _  
_

And in her frozen room, Snizhana wept.


End file.
